Archive | December 2011

Virginia…

Dec25

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor—

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O’Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

—————–

“Is There a Santa Claus?” reprinted from the September 21, 1897, number of The New York Sun.

Seems the book still wins

Dec24

Thursday, December 22, 2011 from Rasmussen Reports

The number of Americans that prefers to read a book on an electronic reading device has tripled from earlier this year, but most still prefer a traditional book.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 27% have now used a Kindle or a similar electronic book-reading device. That’s up from 10% in June of last year and seven percent (7%) in November 2009.  Still, 71% have never used an electronic-reading device before.

But 23% of adults now prefer to read a book on an electronic device rather than in traditional print format. That’s up from eight percent (8%) in February and last June. Sixty-four percent (64%) prefer a traditional printed book, while 13% more are undecided.

Still, only 31% say it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll buy an electronic book-reading device during the next year, including 16% who are Very Likely to do so. Most adults (66%) say it’s unlikely they’ll purchase this type of device, with 23% who say they’re Not At All Likely to do so.

Adults under 40 are more likely than their elders to have already used an electronic reader. Nearly half of those under 30 say they prefer the electronic format over a traditional book.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of adults nationwide have read a book for pleasure during the past month. Another 16% have read a book in the past three months, while 12% have done so in the last six months.

These findings are comparable to past surveys.Those who have read a book for pleasure during the past month are more likely than those that haven’t to have used an electronic reading device.

Working on the studio

Dec22

RS 03

I have been busy setting up a studio and when I saw this list  I was overyjoyed.  I looked it over and I think it is very complete because it mimics my own concerns:  ventilation, lighting and water.  Space heaters were considered but cause lots of troubles so right now they have been vetoed, I don’t have the money or the space to do full justification for them.  If you have other thoughts please jot them down…I would love to hear them.